The vast majority of people think that the quality of wine depends on how it is made at the winery. What we would like to point out is that in order to obtain excellent wine, we have to work hard on the previous stage, which is obtaining grape of very good quality, its raw material.
Bearing in mind that the species known as Vitis vinifera is a large family composed of probably over a thousand varieties of grape susceptible of turning into wine, the first thing we can think of is that in the field of viticulture, the science of cultivating the vine, choosing one of these varieties requires an in-depth analysis.
The most frequent decision is made —regrettably— on the basis of what the market demands, and that is why we have it that the two varieties that have been planted the most in the world are Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon; the first is the queen of Burgundy, and the second, the undisputed king of Bordeaux. However, the decision that I, as a vine grower make at the time of choosing what to plant, in an ideal world, should be intimately related to the place where I intend to locate my vineyard, with the soil, the topography, the climate, water; all factors that will directly affect the quality and character of the wine I expect to produce.
The work to get good grape from a vineyard is not only hard and complex, it also involves a lot of time and patience. After being planted, a vine can start to produce grapes after three years. Sometimes this is rushed and in two years, one is already making wine, especially in vines whose owners need to pay debts soon.
Between the time the vine grower plants his vineyard and the vineyard reaches the adult stage, one has the chance to understand how that variety behaves, what its problems are, how it interacts with the environment, and, by the way, make changes and corrections. The most radical one is to pull them out, but the most frequent one is to reproduce the good ones by replacing it with the bad ones.
The vineyard is a community of live beings that are different from one another, a community where some adjust better than others. By observing my vineyard, I can determine if what I want is to produce grapes for ordinary wine. If that were my decision, then I would try that my vines yield a larger quantity. If I want to produce good wine, I will try that my plants have greater quality; therefore, less quantity.
Unfortunately, the most common goal of selection in many vineyards around the world was (and still is) quantity. This tendency has been responsible for vineyards that yield watery and graceless wines. But little by little this is going to have to change, since people are tired of drinking “industrial” wines and want to start drinking wines that transmit an experience, that have complexity. But it is not easy; these qualities can only be obtained with the knowledge that comes with the years. The same thing happens with plants as with people. That is why we say that in order to obtain an excellent wine, we should have a vineyard that is at least three years old.
The vine grower’s work is hard, and a quality one absolutely must have in this industry is patience. Nothing happens from one day to the other, except for climatic contingencies that can make us waste one full year’s work in minutes. That is why we say that the work before the grape goes into the winery is more or just as important as winemaking itself when it comes to making good wine.